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HNGD - Elitist Broadway


Parabar

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Parabar, I don't know what strings you prefer to use, but Gibson L5 strings sound great with the Elitist Broadway, as do the Thomastic-Enfield flats, should you want to experiment.

 

Enjoy that beauty!

 

Red 333

 

As I matter of fact, I put Gibson L5 .011's on it last night, and yowza! That's what I'm TALKIN' about! .011's on jazzboxes is what I like best --- the best combination of tone and playability. I also sometimes use D'addario Chrome flatwounds on my jazz guitars, which also sound and feel great, and are both more readily available and cheaper than either Pyramids or Thomastik.

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I'd surely leave the white knobs & frequensator on there for the vintage Epi vibe.

Beautiful guitar!

 

I completely agree, Those big white knobs scream "Elitist". The Frequensator is part of Epiphone history.

 

If you do decide to part with the knobs, I am another you can put on the list as a buyer. They would look good on my Korean-made Broadway.

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Congratulations Parabar!! If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for her? I've read some people say that Elitist Byrdands have sold on Ebay for 2500?!? I would be very happy if that were true! Not that I am looking to sell my Byrdland or Broadway at the moment! What I love about the Elitist's is the materials used are real. The Ablone, and MOP, the Custom shop Gibson's don't even do that anymore. Admire the inlay work on your Broadway and just slightly move it in the light. Watch how the abalone sparkles and the MOP has depth. I hated the knobs too when I first got mine but after seeing the early Epiphones with the same style I decided to keep them. The witch-hats on my Byrdland are another story though I've yet to change them. Good luck with her and enjoy! Now you need a Byrdland too!! The Byrdland took me over a year to find and I found it thanks to fellow forum member Sunriver. The VS finish is tough to find on both models and I held out on that for the Byrdland.

 

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P.S.

I use the L-5 12/56 on the Broadway and the 11's on the Byrdland. The Hollowbody Elitist's are indeed made at the Terada facility while the soldbody were made at Fujigen. Gretsch also has Terada manufacture their guitars too so that can give some scope of the quality of the Elitists as well as their value. Here is my one Gretsch:

 

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Absolutely beautiful guitar. There's something about a natural finish on a big box electric, yummmm. Personally, I would leave the white knobs, but look for a way to tone down the "whiteness". Antique them a little (soak them in coffee to see if they'll dull down)? And, the T. Enfelds are great strings, I have them on my Casino, the pro jazz players I know all use them. I quit using Pyramid strings (on my Ric) when I was told by my Ric tech that they create more tension (pull) on the neck than other strings. Something about their construction that doesn't allow them to laterally stretch like other strings do. Enjoy that guitar.

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Thanks for the comments, all. Svet, I've played Byrdlands (both Gibson and Elitist) and don't care for the short scale, so thankfully I'm spared that bit of GAS. If I do replace the knobs, I'll hang onto the originals and keep them pristine in case I ever need to sell the guitar. Not likely I'll ever want to, but life can be strange sometimes, and ya just never know. I don't want to post my purchase price here, but anyone who's REALLY curious can look it up under completed listings on eBay. It didn't come with a case, so it looks like I'll need to decide between the standard Epi EJumbo case (TKL made) for about $90 or a Gibson L-5 case for a little over $200. Doesn't seem like the Elitist cases turn up on their own anywhere.

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Gorgeous!! I was at the NAMM show where they introduced the Elite/Elitist Broadway and Byrdland. I suggested that they combine the two and do a Byrdland with the full-scale Broadway/L5 neck--I'd buy one in a heartbeat! Incidentally, I used to have an original early-'60's Broadway that I bought in '73 from the original owner. He said he hadn't done anything to it, but it had gold Schaller tuners on it, and the neck pickup was reversed, so somebody had done something, and it wasn't me! I played it for a year or so and traded it in '74 for a '59 Tele. Those were the days, eh?

Now--I wonder if there's any way we can get them to reissue the '60's-style thin-bodied three-pickup Emperor? I don't think I could resist that!

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  • 2 years later...

Ah, tales of the Parabar Elitist Broadway. Very nice!

 

 

Mine's a little different. Lots of figure with splashes of flame on the back and sides . . .

 

 

 

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